TRACES of cocaine have been found by The Hinckley Times in over 75 per cent of public toilets, including those in the library and on Asda’s baby changing table.

Using at-home drug testing kits, we investigated public toilets across the borough for evidence of cocaine - and found 10 out of 13 loos tested positive for the Class A drug.

Those in the leisure centre, Somerfield and the unisex toilet in Hinckley library were among those that tested positive. The baby-changing table in the Asda toilets also tested positively. The mums and baby toilet in Morrisons showed traces of cocaine, although the table itself was negative.

The toilets in Hinckley Hospital in Mount Road were also positive - despite them having locks fitted this year to prevent drug abuse.

Tests revealed evidence of the drug in the female loos at Hinckley magistrates court and there were traces in the loos at the Baron pub and bars Praha and Barracuda.

The toilets in Vis-a-Vis bar, the award-winning public loos on Station Road and the Station View doctors surgery tested negative.

In the interest of fairness, we also tested the toilets in our offices, which revealed no traces of the drug.

Manufacturers at the Crackdown Drug Testing Ltd company - from which we ordered the testing swabs - said the tests are 95 per cent accurate and would only react with cocaine.

Praha owner Gary Carlisle said: “We’re tight on our anti-drugs policy and I’ve had people stand in the toilets before to check it’s okay, but they’re private places and we can’t monitor everything.”

“I can’t believe that people have such a lack of respect for themselves and everyone else that they have to do something like this.

“I don’t understand why they have to take drugs anyway, but to go into a public toilet to do it is so demeaning and absolutely disgusting.”

Hinckley police have carried out a series of drug busts this year.

A spokesman said: “Drug misuse of any kind will not be tolerated in Hinckley and our officers are working hard to continue clamping down on it.

Misuse

“We would like to reassure the community that we take these issues very seriously and we are working alongside the council and local businesses to combat it.

“Tackling drug misuse is a priority on the beat and we are responding to people’s concerns by continually gathering intelligence which leads us to take action against any one misusing drugs.”

Anyone who has any information is asked to call Hinckley police on 0116 222 2222 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

People concerned about any drugs issues can call the Leicester and Leicestershire drug action team on 0116 274 4210.

How we tested

WHILE testing the toilets, we wore latex gloves at all times to ensure there was no contamination of evidence.

We swabbed the toilet surfaces with the wipes, before immediately placing them into sealed plastic bags. If the wipe turned blue straight away, there was evidence of cocaine on the surface.

Each toilet tested was a female toilet, each in the last week.

Manufacturers at the Crackdown Drug Testing Ltd - from which we ordered the swabs - said the tests are 95 per cent accurate.

They are used by the police, prison service and HM Customs. The company said that no other chemicals react with the wipes.

The tests are able to pick up just small traces of cocaine on any surface.

Dave Rigg, director of the company, said: “If the tests turn blue, someone has been using cocaine.

“The brighter the blue, the purer the cocaine is. These tests are definitely accurate.”

What the owners of the premises said:

Hinckley magistrates court

Spokesman: “Security checks are carried out at courts across the country to safeguard public safety and to prevent illegal activity taking place on the premises. At Hinckley magistrates court, all public areas, including the public toilets, are patrolled regularly. Police are immediately notified of anyone found to be using or carrying non-prescription drugs and they are removed from the court.”

Praha

Manager Helen Carlisle said: “I am really shocked. We have bouncers and they’re always keeping an eye on things. We also get the staff to check the toilets every hour, so I’m stunned. I didn’t think we had that kind of thing going on here; the people just don’t seem like that.”

Asda

Press office: “This is not an issue that we’re aware of in terms of customer complaints or contact with the police and we’ve not had reports that it is an issue. Obviously we can’t install CCTV in the toilets, but it’s something that we will keep an eye on and it’s something which the store manager will monitor.”

Hinckley library

Press officer: “We have not experienced any problems with the toilets, which are cleaned and monitored every day, and have had no reports of traces of drugs being found.”

Somerfield

Spokesman: “We are not aware of any specific incidents involving drugs in our public toilets. Safety and hygiene are high priority and we are always very vigilant and check the toilets on a regular basis. If we are aware of anything suspicious we will contact the local police immediately.”

Wetherspoons

(owners of The Baron)

Spokesman: “We have a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and it is an issue that we take really seriously. We have staff who check the toilets every hour and it is something we keep an eye on, but obviously we can’t check in cubicles or behind closed doors.”

Morrisons

Spokesman: “We are very surprised and disappointed at these findings as we have no reported incidents of drugs misuse in the customer toilets at our store in Hinckley. In addition to in-store CCTV cameras, we employ security guards who regularly patrol all areas of the store. Customers can be assured that we will monitor the situation closely and take any action that we feel necessary.”

Barracuda

Spokesman said they had a zero-tolerance policy on drugs. “If a person is caught allegedly taking drugs on our premises the police are called and the person is ejected from the pub. They may also be banned, not only from our premises but by other pubs and bars in the area, depending on the policy of the local pubwatch.”

The Primary Health Care Trust for Hinckley Hospital

Spokesman: “Earlier this year we introduced a key collection system for access to the hospital toilets, to stop drug abusers discarding dirty needles and leaving the toilets in a mess, which is not only unsightly but also a health and safety risk to patients and staff. This was not a popular move with some, but has proved successful in tackling the issue. It’s disappointing to hear that traces of drugs have been found, but unfortunately it will never be possible to monitor public toilets 24 hours a day. The hospital toilets are cleaned thoroughly every day and checked regularly throughout the day.”

Hinckley leisure centre

A council spokesman said: “We will continue to work closely with the police and the leisure centre operators to ensure the centre remains a safe and drug-free environment.”